This cemetery is
located in Downs Township, at the northeast corner of the northwest quarter of section 6.
Driving directions are from Mayfield, go 3 miles south and 1½ miles west, or from U. S.
Highway 160
and K-49 intersection, go 4 miles south and ½ mile east.
The following is taken from notes and the book MAYFIELD THEN AND NOW By Elaine Clark & Sherry Kline. If you would like to learn more about this about this cemetery and the community surrounding it check out MAYFIELD THEN AND NOW
The first burial in the Chicaskia Cemetery seems to have been Cora E. Milne, aged 1 year and 10 months. Her stone is dated July 21, 1883, and we know that her parents, George W. and Margaret M. Milne, were among the early members of the Chicaskia Church. The Chicaskia United Presbyterian Church was located in the northwest corner of the land, and the parsonage, a two-story house, was located in the lot west of the church.
Hattie May Chesterman may be the most discussed burial in the cemetery. The W. L. and Rosa Chesterman family was traveling across the prairie in their covered wagon when their 7 ½-month old baby died on September 10, 1884. As per their request, little Hattie May was buried in the unplatted area at the northeast corner of the cemetery. I was unable to determine whether the family came back later and set the stone or whether someone in the church did it for the family.
The Chisholm Trail ruts are still visible in the cemetery where graves have not been dug. Today there are only slight indentions in the ground.
Cemetery List by Surname Cemetery List by Tombstone number
A big thanks to Larry and Elaine Clark for indexing this cemetery.
The following is taken from Cemeteries in Sumner County, Kansas by Harvey and Ruth Swan (1983).
"Chicaskia Cemetery, Downs Twnsp, R 2 W, T33, sec 6, NE corner of the NW 1/4. Location: 2 1/2 W of the south end of the Wellington Lake.
The Chicaskia cemetery was laid out about 1882. The oldest marker bears the date July 24, 1883 for Cora E. Milne, 1 year and 10 months old.
A family traveling through the country lost a child. It was buried in the unplatted area in the Northeast corner of the cemetery. The marker reads: --Chesterman, Sept 10, 1884.
In early years, there was a United Presbyterian church in one corner of this tract of land."
This page was created by Cindy Ball and is now maintained by the Sumner County Historical & Genealogical Society